A client states that she cannot stop worrying about her son and his lack of what she sees as adequate playing time on the high school soccer team. This behavior is best described as which of the following?

A client states that she cannot stop worrying about her son and his lack of what she sees as adequate playing time on the high school soccer team. This behavior is best described as which of the following?

• A. Obsession
• B. Compulsion
• C. Hallucination
• D. Phobia

Answer: (A)

This question hinges on recognizing obsessive thoughts versus other psychiatric phenomena. The mother describes a persistent, intrusive worry about her son’s playing time that she cannot stop thinking about. That pattern fits an obsession: a persistent, distressing thought that intrudes on consciousness and is hard to dismiss. A compulsion would be a repetitive behavior performed in response to such thoughts to relieve the anxiety, and no ritual or repetitive behavior is described here. Hallucination would involve perceiving something sensory that isn’t present, which isn’t indicated. A phobia would be an irrational fear of a specific object or situation, not a constant worry about a family member’s activity. So the best fit is an obsession.

This question hinges on recognizing obsessive thoughts versus other psychiatric phenomena. The mother describes a persistent, intrusive worry about her son’s playing time that she cannot stop thinking about. That pattern fits an obsession: a persistent, distressing thought that intrudes on consciousness and is hard to dismiss. A compulsion would be a repetitive behavior performed in response to such thoughts to relieve the anxiety, and no ritual or repetitive behavior is described here. Hallucination would involve perceiving something sensory that isn’t present, which isn’t indicated. A phobia would be an irrational fear of a specific object or situation, not a constant worry about a family member’s activity. So the best fit is an obsession.